Chapter 59: With My Former Body, I Build My Future Divine Form

Ren Yidao turned his head and looked toward the center of the ruins.

Under the illumination of the moonlight, one could see a special radiance constantly flickering.

That was a fox Divine Statue made of mud.

There was no special craftsmanship or technique; it was simply a Divine Statue molded using the most traditional rural methods.

Straw for bones, to shape its form.

Mud for flesh, to fill its body.

Ink for skin, to bestow its spirit.

These materials, found everywhere, relied on a sincere heart to become a vessel for entrusting faith in the hands of the craftsman.

It received worship from the masses, bore Incense, and contained faith.

And then, a hundred years passed.

Even buried in the ruins, even with its exterior already dilapidated and looking as if it could shatter completely at any moment.

It still stood in this place.

Without a doubt, this was the material Ren Yidao had come to seek.

For Ren Yidao, there was no heavenly treasure more suitable than this.

The foundation material for his own Divine Path.

Ren Yidao raised his hand and gently placed it on the chest of the Divine Statue.

Thump, thump.

He heard a faint but steady heartbeat.

That was his heartbeat, the heartbeat of the "Fox Immortal".

Looking up at the bright moon overhead, Ren Yidao's gaze gradually grew somewhat lost.

"Pfft... cough, cough, hahaha!"

Suddenly, Ren Yidao burst into laughter, covering his eyes as he looked up and laughed heartily:

"Hahaha, hahahaha!"

Under the moonlight, the youth laughed heartily, laughing until tears streamed down his face.

Wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, he mocked himself in a whisper:

"So, the one who has been splitting hairs all this time was actually me?"

The one who couldn't let go was actually me all along!

For some time now, Ren Yidao had been associating with Shi Anqi, using his power to help finalize the conclusion that the Fox Immortal was dead.

On paper, the Fox Immortal was dead, and the Xianhu Temple should have completely exited the stage of history.

Then, he, the true Fox Immortal, could be liberated from this past identity.

Ren Yidao had been thinking about cutting ties with the past as much as possible, completely severing the identity of the Fox Demon, and leaving no news that would be disadvantageous to him.

But this entanglement... was it really something he could just sever if he wanted to?

Even if he himself were willing, would those mortals be willing?

"They wouldn't be."

He smiled bitterly, finally realizing how wishful his own thinking had been.

"They wouldn't be willing."

So many years had passed, and these mortals and their descendants had already proven one thing with their actions.

Even though the true Fox Immortal had long since not been here, their faith had not changed much.

Whether they believed in the Fox Immortal actually had nothing to do with the true Fox Immortal himself anymore.

After the first generation of Believers passed away, their descendants were no longer worshipping Ren Yidao himself, but the idealized "Fox Immortal" in their hearts.

They revered the god and respected the god, but they did not know the god's true form.

This group of mortals had used a hundred years to outline a consensus:

What was in this Daoist Temple was an Auspicious Beast that would bring them good fortune and provide help in times of danger.

This Fox Immortal Divine Statue was the faith of the mortals, and even more so, it was Ren Yidao's past divine body.

Ren Yidao could also feel the Heavenly Fox Dao God's longing for this, wishing it could immediately merge this Divine Statue into itself.

It urged him, not willing to wait even a moment longer.

But...

Ren Yidao was not swayed by the impulse in his heart; he restrained his earlier agitated emotions and said in a low voice:

"You revere me, which is certainly not wrong."

"But you worship me, so why do you vainly attempt to trap me?"

The faith of mortals was not entirely without harm.

Incense faith had always been a double-edged sword.

Gods and mortals stood at the two ends of the shackles of faith, each holding one side.

If one side grew strong, the other would grow weak.

It was not obvious at this moment, but if this continued for a long time and the crowd believing in the Fox Immortal kept expanding, Ren Yidao would sooner or later suffer the backlash of faith.

And when that time came... Incense as Poison!

At that time, it would no longer be him defining what the Fox Immortal looked like, but rather being changed by the mortals' faith into the Fox Immortal in their hearts.

Putting the cart before the horse, reversing cause and effect.

He would no longer be himself, neither human nor demon, eventually turning completely into a Fox Immortal without any of his own emotions.

Ren Yidao would not allow it.

Whether it be beastly nature or divine nature, Ren Yidao would not allow them to devour his humanity.

"I do not wish to."

"I am who I am."

Even if you revere me, I will not allow you to change my appearance.

"I walk my own path, let him speak his own words."

Ren Yidao wanted to break free from the shackles that mortal Believers had imposed upon him.

"Since I cannot cast it aside, and I am unwilling to be bound here by shackles, then... heh."

Pointing his fingers like a blade, Ren Yidao raised his palm high, then slashed down violently!

"Sever!"

Swoosh—

The Divine Statue of the Fox Immortal was split in two, falling open to both sides.

Crack.

A slashed fissure appeared in the center of his brow, and crystalline blood slowly flowed down.

Severing himself with one strike, from this moment on, the Heaven Gate is wide open.

And from the split-open Divine Statue, a bright red heart that was constantly beating fell out, landing in the palm of Ren Yidao.

That was the God Heart.

That was his heart.

Discarding the divine body modified by mortals, keeping only the purest divine core.

Remove the external self, keep the true self.

The Heavenly Fox Dao God walked out from behind him, looking with some awe at the back standing calmly.

He is not a bird in a cage, nor a fish in a pond.

He is the White Fox Immortal of this world.

Realizing he can roam freely, he acts without restraint.

Ren Yidao looked up and swallowed that God Heart directly into his throat!

Gulp.

A single Golden Core swallowed into the belly, only then do I know my fate is not determined by Heaven.

Before Ren Yidao turned his head back, It lowered Its head to catch the two broken halves of the Divine Statue, tossed them into the air, and then swallowed them in one bite!

The moment the Dao God swallowed the Divine Statue, Ren Yidao closed his eyes and softly chanted aloud:

"With my former body, I build my future divine body."

"With my old path, I lay the foundation of my Divine Path."

The fissure on his brow gradually healed, but it did not disappear completely, leaving behind a faint scar resembling a Heavenly Eye.

Slowly opening his eyes, he gave a light shout:

"Dharma Aspect, open."

Hum!

The Dao God behind him threw its head back and let out a long cry, emitting a wail similar to the weeping of an infant.

Woo—

Gradually, the Heavenly Fox Dao God expanded, but at the same time, it was becoming more solid, as if it were a true body of flesh and blood!

Stomping heavily on the ground, the eight-tailed white fox roared toward the sky!

Dharma Aspect, complete!

With a light leap, Ren Yidao landed on the top of the Dao God's head and sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

And the ethereal aura on Ren Yidao's body was also constantly rising, soon breaking through the limit of Golden Core.

From this point on, his Divine Path cultivation...

Has entered the Earth Realm!

But he did not open his eyes, still constantly digesting this century of accumulation, and his momentum continued to rise!

Chongzhou City, at the city gate.

Shi Xue was riding on horseback, chatting with a pair of a young boy and girl wearing bamboo hats, when her expression suddenly changed.

She turned her head to look in the direction of Xianhu Temple.

Although the distance was somewhat far, she felt an aura of supreme majesty.

"That is..."